An Acne Rant

Another busy week at school is coming to a close early for me. Tomorrow Joshua and I leave for Manchester Beach for the weekend. We’re meeting up with the rest of his family who has already been there since Tuesday. Their web site claims they have wi-fi so I’m hoping to upload pictures while I’m there. I’m pretty excited about going camping again. I just have so many things to get done before I leave!

In other news, I’ve decided to finally give ProActiv a try. Ever since I heard about I’ve been hesitant to try it because the key ingredient used is Benzoyl Peroxide. My experiences with this ingredient have resulted in an allergic reaction every single time.

First I tried an on-the-spot acne treatment from Neutrogena; it had 10% BP in it and caused me to get red and flaky wherever I put it. Then I tried a cleanser by Clean & Clear that also had 10% BP; I used it on my face, neck and chest and got the worst rash ever! That was when I became aware BP was not the ingredient for me to be using. I accidentally used Patricia Wexler’s on-the-spot treatment, which I thought had Salicylic Acid in it when it too had 10% BP. I was surprised because this is the only acne product in her line that uses BP.

I’ve been using the Wexler line since October hoping my acne would really start to improve after a few months usage; however it has barely been worth the price I’ve been paying. The only product that has proven it really does work has been the RareMinerals Blemish Therapy, and that’s because I use it twice a day.

I took a quiz on Neutrogena’s web site for a new acne skin care line called skin iD. You go through a free evaluation to determine which products you should use. Amongst the questions I had to pick all the different acne products I’ve tried. The sad (and frustrating) part is I picked all but one of the brands listed (the one being ProActiv). So yeah, I can definitely say I’ve tried pretty much everything! Not to mention I’ve tried oral antibiotics, birth control pills (still on it and it has improved some), Differin Gel, Retin-A cream, drugstore-priced products, and Sephora/BBW-priced products. High-price, low-price, over-the-counter, prescription, I’ve done it all! Glory be the day when I’m done with it.